


The Great Rescue

by ChibiDashie



Series: The Magic Almanac [12]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epic Friendship, Feels, Gen, Kidnapping, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Outer Space, Rescue, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25476403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiDashie/pseuds/ChibiDashie
Summary: The grandest adventure in the Magic Almanac series! A group of extraterrestrial beings kidnap Mary while she was going on a stroll with Italy, who soon finds out that she is likely to never return to Earth. The alarm bells toll upon the nations finding out Mary has been abducted, going out of their way to get themselves into Space to rescue her. Along the way, Mary befriends an extraterrestrial, who is excited to see a real human being with their own eyes! However, the extraterrestrial has a fascination for Earth and would like to visit the blue planet. They soon devise a plan to escape, but at what cost?
Series: The Magic Almanac [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1424335





	1. When all Hell Broke Loose

For much of the history of humanity, we have always asked ourselves: are we alone in this universe? Have we ever seen proof of an extraterrestrial? There is so much we can debate on and on, but even still, there are those who believe and those who don't. We have written about them, like H.G. Wells has, and wondered if there would ever be an alien attack on the mother planet (If you know obscure history, then that moment in time was quite a scare for many!).

Alas, we may never truly know unless one has experienced seeing an extraterrestrial with their own eyes. Many expect these extraterrestrials to be little grey men with big eyes, after all. As with the nature of our imagination, many believe that they come in all shapes and sizes! That is what our dear sweet Mary pondered about as she looked up to the vast blue sky above her, then looking down at a friend who carried her on his shoulders.

"Do you see any airplanes up there, Maria?" he asked, "I always wonder where they go, too!" 

"I don't see any at all, Mr. Italy." Mary answered, "Ah, birb!" She then pointed at a bird flying over the two, in which the flying feathered friend distracted both Mary and Italy.

"I wonder what kind of birds you have, Mr. Italy." Mary pondered,

"Lots, Maria!" Italy replied, "Just like the ones you have here! Watch this!" Italy took a deep breath and paused. Mary waited patiently, wondering what ever was going to happen. She then noticed Italy's curl twitch a bit until it stopped suddenly. Soon enough, Italy cooed just like a pigeon, bringing over a flock of friendly pigeons right over. 

"Pigeons!" Mary exclaimed as she grabbed one and hugged it, "I think they're really cute!" 

"Me too, Maria! I have lots and lots of them!" He held out his arm, with three pigeons landing on them immediately. "I'd love for you to see my pigeon friends someday in Venice!" 

"Do they ride the boats too?" 

"I wish~!" 

This was just a typical day in Mary's hometown outside of the Almanac. Nonetheless, it was quite lovely for Mary and Italy going around a park together. Just not too long ago, Mary was with her friends at a playground, with Italy keeping a close eye on the children. Poor Mary was exhausted after playing so much, and simply wanted a free ride as Italy strolled down a path within a small wooded area. However, there was something suspicious hiding not too far from the two. Nobody has seen them before, nor do we really know where they came from. They peered from the bushes, trying to not reveal themselves. 

"A younger specimen spotted, sir." They spoke in their native tongue, an unknown language nobody has ever heard before. 

"Hold on, the bigger specimen looks awfully familiar." They peered through the bushes, observing every detail they can. 

"Hey, I think I know why the bigger specimen is familiar. I remember hearing something about a human just like that one dealing with a galactic takeover from a rival planet. Alas, they'll never become sentient like us. All they do is just turn everything white to just feed." 

"We need live specimens for the mothership to further our knowledge of the Cosmos. The smaller one must be a juvenile, yes?" 

"Of course, of course. It will be easier to get the juvenile rather than the grown one. After all, it will grow accustomed to us."

"I don't know. Humans are very sentient, just like us. If needed, we will tranquilize it." 

"Do it quick, becteause they are leaving the brush." 

Mary continued to mind her own business as she continued to ride on Italy's shoulders. All she focused on was listening to Italy humming and looking at the trees around her. That was when out of the blue, Mary was suddenly taken off Italy, thinking she fell off his shoulders. Mary screamed, only for her screams to get quieter and quieter. Italy immediately turned around, seeing Mary fighting her way out of the arms of an unknown creature! 

"Mr. Italy!" Mary screamed as loud as she can, "Help!" 

Italy was beyond frightened seeing three unknown creatures trying their best to wrangle Mary. He knew he had to do something, and fast! Italy's instincts went over to a stick that could be good for a weapon and picked it up. Ha ha! What clever ingenuity! Remembering his skills in fencing, Italy charged towards the creatures, only for one of them to hiss at him. This was quite a hiss he never heard from any kind of living creature, which paralyzed him in fear. 

"Help me, Mr. Italy!" Mary wailed, soon with her cries being muffled by one of the creatures. Turns out this muffling knocked Mary right into a slumber. The creatures, knowing that Mary is knocked out, ran off with her in their arms. Italy was too scared to even move a bit! His dissociation from being frightened so much snapped back into reality when he felt a huge gust of wind blowing in his face, then a sudden flash of bright light. He ran to the source of where the gust came from, only to see that just flying above was quite an unusual sight; an unidentified flying object.

This was not just any ordinary kidnapping Italy saw; this was an alien abduction. Without hesitation, Italy ran as fast as he could back to Mary's house to bring the terrifying news.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of Mary's house, many of the nations were cleaning all around the house as a lovely surprise for Mary and her parents. Except, well, there was a slacker. America sat down on the rocking chair in Mary's room, looking through an old picture album that he took from the bookshelf. 

"Awwww!" He cooed, "Look at baby Mary guys! She's so cute, she's gonna kill me! Oh! Look! It's her dad and Baby Mary! He's so proud I can't even!"

England peered out from the closet. He was cleaning and reorganizing every single little thing in Mary's closet, despite a sign on the door warning of the closet monster, Bungus. Seeing America slacking off, he sighed.

"America, I know how much you adore little Mary," England said, "But will you not be a fat ass and actually do something productive for once?!" 

"Aw come on, dude! You'd probably can't help but go 'd'awwww!' at these pictures!"

"Yes, yes, but have you cleaned under Mary's bed?"

"Oh shit you're right–" America put the photo album down and went over to Mary's bed, lifting it up high with no effort whatsoever. All he saw underneath was just the wooden floor that the bed stood on top of, covered in quite a bit of dust. He coughed a bit, with some of the dust flying up to him.

"Oh hey, it's Cottonball!" America exclaimed, holding the entire bed with one hand as he grabbed the stuffed unicorn, "So that's where you were! I can't wait to tell Mary the good news!"

Immediately, Germany scooted over with a mop to clean up the dusty floor. Just a simple swipe of a moist towelette did the job!

"Dude, didn't know you were so into cleaning." America said, "I thought you were supposed to be the dad to Mary."

"A responsible figure like us nations must be a good influence to a child." Germany said, "If she were here too, I would have her help out so she knows how to take responsibility."

"Yeah, good luck on that. Just look at how many times I had to wrestle her just to have her take a bath!"

Just as the conversation ended, Italy burst into Mary's room, sobbing.

"Italy!" Germany exclaimed, "Where is Mary?!"

"Oh, how I am such a terrible, terrible, terrible papa!" Italy cried, "Nobody is going to believe what I had saw happen to poor Mary!" His distress was so painful, all he could do was to hold onto Germany and sob into his chest. His sobs brought the attention of the other nations, who stopped their work cleaning to investigate what was going on.

"Italy, calm down." Germany said, "What happened to Mary?"

"She...she got kidnapped!" Italy wailed, "And I couldn't do a single thing about it!"

Germany suddenly grew more angry, but did his best to regulate his emotions. Nobody was to hurt someone he cared about, and he will fight tooth and nail to get her back.

"What did the kidnapper look like?" China asked, "Because I will not hesitate to beat them senseless."

"No, no! It wasn't a person who kidnapped her!"

"Then who was it, Italy-san?" Japan also asked, curious to know what was going on. "I too, will fight, especially if yokai are involved." 

Italy gulped as he wiped his tears off. "...Aliens."

"Dude, please tell me this is a joke," America said, "Because, y'know, this shit ain't funny." 

"No, no, it's true!" Italy pleaded, "She was on my shoulders until I heard her screaming out for me, and I saw that she wasn't on my shoulders!" His tears were beginning to choke him, soon returning to sobbing back on Germany. He tried his best to calm down Italy, even though his way of calming down a grown adult was...rather awkward. He was so used to calming Mary down whenever she was upset or had a fit, but Italy was a grown man. All Germany could do was awkwardly embrace Italy and pat his back. The nations have seen that Italy was being in fact, genuine. 

"Alright dudes, this calls for a high-stakes mission!" America announced, "If Mary really did get kidnapped by aliens, then we have no choice but go to Area 51."

"Isn't that the place where some losers wanted to supposedly raid?" France questioned. 

"Yeah, and I watched and laughed at them! Besides the point, we're countries and we can go there! Not like they'll shoot me or you guys anyways. Besides, that's where Tony chills anyways." 

"Oh god, not Tony..." England sighed, "Bloody hell, if he's coming with us I'm gonna punt him." 

Disregarding England's concerns, Americs huffed. "Come on dudes, it's time we rescue the very person we so care about!"

He then hopped right back into the Almanac with the other nations following right behind him, all running in a V-formation. Other nations passing by gave way to the main eight nations running towards America's door in Hall Americas, seeing as this was a serious emergency. The eight nations stopped once they reached America's door, with the man himself opening it up. You might expect America's home to be the White House itself in Washington D.C, but you would be rather surprised that it is nothing like that at all! Stepping inside was a vast, round room with fifty different doors on the walls. 

America stepped to the center of the room, in which lies a control panel waiting for him. He began to control the panel by typing something that none of the other nations could make out what he was typing and then pulled a lever on the side. The room began to shake, with the sound of cogs turning and shaking the room. This was rather undoubtedly, an engineering marvel that no mortal has ever laid their eyes on.

"Nevada, 36th State of the United States of America," a computerized voice spoke, "Capital City: Carson City, Nevada." 

It seemed like forever that the room kept slowly spinning, until it suddenly stopped at a door that soon illuminated. Italy fell flat on the ground at the sudden brake from the slow-spinning room, but soon got up with the help from Germany. 

"Come on boys, we got a part of our family to save," America said, opening the door that illuminated. "One step in and we're in Nevada, baby!" The nations proceeded to enter the door into a dark room, with America closing the door. Italy began to nervously vibrate at the darkness, until America realized something was not quite right, but was an easy fix for him. His hand clenched into a fist, soon punching the air that revealed all sorts of lights above! What just happened was that America did in fact, punch out a manhole and began to climb up. The other nations followed suit, but were shocked to find out where they really were at.

"Viva, Las Vegas, baby!" America shouted, "Who wants to gamble their life savings away?"


	2. Awaken, My Child

Woozy...

A heaviness in her head...

Mary slowly opened her eyes to see an empty room around her. It was surprisingly spacious, but something still felt rather off. Was this a dream? Where even was she in the first place? Turning around, there was an opening that could have lead her out of the room! She approached it, only to bump into the opening; turns out there was a wall that forbade her from exiting. Still, Mary tried to see what she could see. She tried her best to see what was around her, until she was suddenly startled by those creatures that took her hostage. Mary was beyond frightened, scurrying over to a corner to hide from them while crying in fear.

Those creatures saw Mary scurry, soon logging information about her down on some kind of holographic device. In their native tongue, the creatures spoke amongst each other.

"An excellent specimen. But it appears to be easily startled."

"Selenkko, it was quite a difficult mission. Humans are undoubtedly clever beings who are probably just as intelligent as us. Quite a civilization they have too, I might add."

"Those are the kind of things on why I have sought out for different lifeforms through the cosmos, my friend. Of course, it is dangerous for our kind to step foot on that planet, and I commend you and your team for retrieving the specimen."

"An honor, Selenkko. May knowledge and wisdom spread through the cosmos."

The creatures wandered off, still discussing their findings. Mary still was crying, with her face almost turning red as she called out for her mother and father. It seemed like nobody could hear her cry for help, until not too far away was another creature, this time a rather curious one. He was a part of the same kind of creatures that took Mary away from Italy, only appearing much more younger and much shorter, probably around Sealand's height. His tail wagged at the sight of Mary in the corner, soon drooping as he heard the pained cries of the child. Slowly it approached Mary as it entered the room, trying its best to not startle her...only to startle her in the end. Mary jumped back, scurrying to another corner to hide.

"Ah! I'm friendly!" The creature said, in perfect English, "Do not be afraid of me." 

"Go away!" Mary screamed, "You wafflehanger!" 

The creature then had an idea upon seeing Mary being hesitant. He went out of the room Mary was housed in, as if he just disappeared from a corner. Mary lifted her arms that covered her eyes, seeing that she was alone again, but still scared of what was going to happen to her. It wasn't long until the creature came back into the room, holding something in its nubby fingers. For once, Mary knew that this creature wasn't going to hurt her.

"You see, I've always wanted to go to Earth," he said, "But my father forbids me, so he led a group of scientists on Earth to bring back something for me as, well, a token. Maybe you might know what it is?" 

Mary held the object in her hands. It was actually a teddy bear that appeared to be stolen from a shop. The tag was still on the toy; it could be quite the collector's item, especially just for the story behind it. 

"A teddy bear," Mary quietly said as she held the bear. She then hugged it tightly, as if she weren't going to let go of it. The creature was quite fascinated at Mary hugging the teddy bear, but gave her some personal space. Mary then raised her head up, seeing that after all, maybe she isn't going to get hurt. 

"Wow! Earth life is so cool!" the creature exclaimed as it swished its tail around. Mary was curious on why such a creature would say such things! "My first human encounter! This is the best expedition ever!" 

"You...never met someone before?" Mary said, her voice going back to her normal tone. "Does that mean you never had a friend before?"

The creature waved his arms. "Oh no! I have friends though," He insisted, "But I never had a human friend before! Well, most of my friends, erm, are a part of my dad's research team."

Mary's interest piqued. "Is that why I'm here with you?"

"Yeah. It's that my father is head scientist of this massive research mission to study different forms of life across the cosmos and collect them to bring back to our planet. You just happen to be highly sought after because, well, we too are looking for intelligent life."

"I don't get it. Does that mean I can't go home?"

The creature drooped his tail, appearing rather morose. He nodded, and then looked up. "After all, I could help you go home because you see, I have a fascination with Earth. There's so much I can see there, that I could probably stay there if I could!" 

Mary's eyes lit up. "You'll help me get home?!"

"I'll do my best! That's kind of why I came on this expedition because I admire my dad's work, but I've always wanted to see a human like you! I've even made my own humansona too, and called myself after him! Call me Xenophon!"

"And I'm Mary!"

"Heh heh...Hey, nobody's around, but you wanna see what's outside of this room?"

"Yeah!" 

"Everyone is busy doing research since you came here and we're also flying around this solar system for more life as well, so now is a really good time to show you what my dad has got!" 

Xenophon stood up and held up his nubs against the glass door that held Mary in. The door opened up, with Mary following the extraterrestrial. Outside of this room was many other creatures from different planets housed in pens and some in tubes. It was almost like this entire room was a massive zoo, and Mary just happened to be a part of it; only that this zoo was more like a laboratory than a zoological park.

"Xenophon?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this a really big zoo?"

"What's a zoo?"

"It's this place my friends take me to sometimes! There's lots of cute animals there and my friend Mr. America tried talking to a big scary bear before! That's what this place reminds me of...only that it's not pretty like a zoo." 

"Bear...Bear...Bear-OH! I think there's one here, but I'm not too sure. Hey, you wanna see something really cool that we found on Earth too?" 

"Yeah!" 

Xenophon grabbed Mary's hand, dragging her throughout the massive laboratory. All sorts of lifeforms passed her by, seeing some that she never saw in her life that were most likely from planets that humanity have never discovered. Xenophon stopped right on his tracks, pausing to look up. 

"Look Mary. It's what we call a Massive Blue Cetacean. We've never seen life so big before like this, but my father is incredibly proud of getting one. He said that if he and his team never got you, he would be fine just having this massive life form!"

"That's a really big whale!" Mary exclaimed, "Is it okay?"

"Yeah, it's just in a cryogenic state. We have technology to keep it alive until we return to the planet where it will live forever and ever. I'm surprised we're able to fit it in the mothership!" 

"I don't understand what any of that means, but that sounds super duper cool!" Mary paused for a second, soon realizing what Xenophon had just said, "Wait, we're on a spaceship?"

"You didn't know?"

Mary shook her head. "It doesn't feel like a spaceship."

"Oh, I got an idea. Get on my back."

Mary climbed up on Xenophon's back, holding on as tightly as she can. He then crouched down and soon began to sneak about until he sprung high in the air. Xenophon began to sprint on all fours, with Mary bouncing about on his back, trying her best to not fall off. She was quite surprised at how fast Xenophon could even sprint! The young creature stopped in his tracks when he eventually stood back up on his feet, his back straightening as Mary slid off. They were on an empty walkway with no one around in sight. Mary and Xenophon looked outside to see the twinkling stars of the universe around them and some of the planets of the solar system. 

"It's the planets!" Mary exclaimed, "I'm learning about them in school!" 

"Say, which planet is that over there?" Xenophon asked, pointing to one at the window.

"That's Jupiter! It's the biggest planet ever!" 

Xenophon chuckled. "I've seen bigger." 

"Ah! I remember that I was gonna go on a class trip to this place called a planetarium, too! Mr. Germany said he's gonna come too because my teacher said he can come help out!"

"I've never heard of that kind of place, but it sounds like something I would like if it has something to do with the stars." 

Mary paused and looked down. An air of melancholy swept over her, soon with tears running down her face.

"Mary?" Xenophon looked at her, soon seeing the tears running down her face just like he saw when he first encountered her. "What's that coming out of your eyes?"

"They're tears, Xenophon," Mary said, sniffling, "I'm sad because everyone I know is far away from home, and I can't see my friends. I can't see Mama and Papa again. I wanna see Mr. Germany and Mr. America and Mr. England again. I...wanna be home."

For the first time, Xenophon realized that something punched him in the gut, but it wasn't even physical; something about seeing Mary in distress got poor Xenophon feeling something. Nearby, he took a small vial and held it against Mary's cheek as the teardrop dripped into safety. She then turned over, wondering why Xenophon even did that.

"A human emotion, all in one little drip of life's elixir," Xenophon said as he examined the vial, but forgot to see that Mary was emotionally in pain. "Ah-! Sorry Mary, I got distracted. Do you know what your mother and father look like?"

Mary cupped something that appeared to be around her neck. She held up her hands to Xenophon, soon uncovering it to reveal a locket. The locket then sprung open, showing a little family picture of her mother, father, and herself, happily together smiling for the camera.

"Wait, your mother and father are trapped in there?!" Xenophon gasped as his tail straightened out of fear, "Hold on, lemme get them out-!"

Mary giggled, soon gently dropping the locket back down. "It's a picture, silly! They're not really in there!" 

"They're not?"

Mary's cheerful self was soon coming back to her, albeit with a little bit of tears and sniffles. "It's a picture, and i'm there too! My Mama and Papa got this for me for Christmas!" 

"What's a...Christmas? Is that a human holiday?"

"Yeah! Although not everyone celebrates it because one of my friends, Fitzgerald, celebrates Hanukkah instead! But Fitzgerald says he gets gifts for Hanukkah just like I do for Christmas!" 

"Wah! A giving holiday! That sounds so cool! You gotta tell me more human things!" 

The two perked their heads upon hearing the sounds of feet tapping the floor. Xenophon looked back at Mary, nudging her to get back on the creature's back so she can return to where she was. Xenophon sprinted back to the laboratory where Mary was housed; thankfully Xenophon wasn't caught with Mary on his back. 

The creatures that walked past them was the lead scientist of this whole research mission and Xenophon's father, Selenkko and his colleagues. 

"Selenkko, I may have sworn I saw the sapient escape," one of the colleagues said, "Or it could have been my eyes deceiving me."

"Mayhaps been your eyes, dearest acquaintance." Selenkko said, "My son has been highly interested in the sapient. A shame I didn't let him go to Earth, but it's for his own safety. I know the sapients are highly intelligent like us, but I fear the most that our captured sapient could commit thought contagion to my son." 

"Yes, yes, thought contagion is serious in highly intelligent beings."

"Thus, that is why the sapient has its own separate chamber away from other living things. I can't imagine what must happen to my son if he were to suffer from it. It would be painful to see him electrocuted, but alas, it's the only way to heal us Xevion from the horrors of thought contagion..."

"Or worse...the Queen's wrath."

Selenkko shuddered, his tail straightening out at the mere thought of the Xevion Queen unleashing her fury onto her subjects. He slapped the thought out of his head, returning back to his studies in the laboratory where all the specimens were held. Thankfully, Mary was back at her chamber with Xenophon nowhere to be found. 


	3. The Journey to the Cosmos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following may contain things that can be triggering to some:  
> -Alcohol abuse

Looking back at our heroes in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, the gang sits around in a rather bustling piano bar, discussing their plans to bring Mary home. The calm piano music was quite a stark difference from the conversation within the group, as if there was a bubble of sadness hovering over the gang. Everyone else though, was having quite a ball.

"I miss my little babushka," Russia sobbed, taking a shot of vodka as he tossed the glass aside that shattered into hundreds of pieces, "She was my only friend and someone just had to take her away. I can still hear her call for Kitty."

"Jeez dude, how are you not dead from all of them shots?" America asked as he pat his back, "I mean, i'm horrified some aliens took Mary away, but I don't think that's the best way to cope, man."

"I know he's grieving," China interrupted, "But let him cope. It may be unhealthy, but it's his way of coping. I'll detox him later."

"Anyways dudes," America said, going back to his plans, "You see, I have these cool ass planes at the airport nearby called Janet Airlines and they're like super cool as fuck!"

"Ok, but what makes them 'cool as fuck'?" England asked,

"They look like normal planes! But they ain't normal!"

"And what does that have to do with our plan to get Mary back?"

"Weeeeell, you see, the only place they really go to is the coolest place in the world~"

"And?"

"Area 51, baby!" 

"Hey, that's the place people tried to raid!" Italy cheerfully added, 

"I mean, we ain't raiding, but we have permission to go in anyways. We're literally countries, after all. The guards just be like 'Oh shit woah actual countries?! Yeah sure come in you're pretty cool.'"

"I doubt guards really are like that, America." Germany said, "They will just nod and open the gates."

"Alright, Mr. Buzzkill." 

"But why must we go into a military base?" France questioned, "We are absolutely not going to be killing things."

"Top secret shit, yo. Just hold your horses!"

France gasped, "H-How am I supposed to hold a horse?! Let alone, I don't have a horse!"

"It's just a saying! Okay, so renting a car is out of the question, we'll just take a Janet. Lemme just text my homeboys and say we're getting there. It's the quickest way to get there without driving through this hellish desert." 

America took his phone out of his pocket, furiously texting away. Who knows what he really texted out, but it was fairly quick. The others watched, but soon heard a little "ping!" not too long after America put his cell phone away.

"Dang, that was quick. Lemme see what they have to say─aaaaand they said yep."

"Of course any sort of military intervention gets approved immediately," England scoffed, "Alas, it is the only way to get Mary back anyways."

"Yeah dude, and we're the guinea pigs for a cool prototype!" 

England spat out the water he was drinking upon hearing America boasting about being test dummies for a top secret military project. "Bloody hell! Test dummies?! This is ridiculous! If something goes amok, we might accidentally kill Mary in the process and face the wrath of her parents!"

"Aiyah! We cannot do this, America!" China interrupted, tears forming in his eyes, "England is right! There must be some other way to get Mary back!"

Germany sighed, soon hopping back in the conversation. "Unfortunately, America is right." he said, "This is our best option to get Mary back. It's risky, but we must all work together. We nations must also be good role models for Mary; it is our duty, especially the day I first met her when she first opened the Almanac and called me 'Papa'. " He too, began to form tears in his eyes. 

"Oh Germany, please don't cry!" Italy said, "You're gonna make me cry, too!" 

"Right then, before we become emotional messes," America said, "Let's get our ass there before shit really hits the fan!" 

As the gang began their journey to Area 51, let me tell you about Janet Airlines, as it is incredibly top secret and nobody really knows how it operates. Janet Airlines is a top-secret military airline that you mostly see at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The planes are typically painted all white with a red stripe going down the fuselage. Nobody really knows where they really go, but many believe that they take personnel to military bases mostly in Nevada, like Area 51, where our main cast of heroes are going. Janet, however, could mean two possible things like "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal" or "Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation" (I personally think it's Just Another Non-Existent Terminal). Why am I writing this mini-essay you ask? Well, it's quite frankly pretty interesting to know, but I don't know what would happen to me if I kept writing about these mysterious Janet planes. Shot maybe? FBI breaking in my house? Nonetheless, let's get back into the story.

* * *

The flight to Groom Lake was quite relatively short; it felt like the flight was only five minutes or so. Once the plane parked, a vehicle drove up to provide stairs for the countries entering the top-secret military base. Fellow employees of the base formed a path for the nations to walk, as if there was a ceremony going on. There was no happiness in the air; this was undoubtedly serious business. To the military, this was a mission about an innocent civilian taken away from an outside force. To the countries, this was a mission to bring back the heart of their big, happy family. 

America lead the other seven nations towards a hangar to the shock of many high-ranking officers. For the first time they ever saw, America was quite serious for once, and he meant business. His aura of determination shattered though at the sight of a little grey man running towards him.

"Ey, Tony!" America exclaimed, "Long time no see! How ya doin', bud?"

"Oh great, him," England scoffed, "I've had enough of that alien bastard." 

Tony glared at England for a bit, soon then returning to America. The two walked to the hangar together as comrade-in-arms, soon stopping at the massive door protecting the valuable treasure within. The door opened up, with the nations looking up at awe of what they saw inside. What they saw was a spectacle beyond their wildest imaginations; a top secret military spacecraft that many would thought would only appear in the most epic of science fiction stories. 

"Boys," America began, "This is a secret project the crew have been working on for a really, really, really long time. I call it the Space Falcon, because Disney would have sued us if we were to call it the Millennium Falcon. Copyright, I know."

"Hey man, we're not even finished with this thing!" A mechanic said, who was busy inspecting the craft before its maiden voyage, "Do you seriously wanna die on this thing?!"

"Look dude," America protested, "My little sister is in deep trouble. As her protective and awesome big bro, it's my responsibility to get her back safe and sound."

"And I thought countries can't have kids?!"

"I adopted her, dammit! Look dude, just give me-I mean, us, the Space Falcon and I'll take your whole family out for steaks in Vegas. Best in town. So rare it melts. Gives Kobe beef a run for its money."

"Ugh, whatever you say." The mechanic dug in his pocket, soon throwing some kind of chain down to America. Miraculously, America caught it in his hands without fail, opening his palms up to reveal top-secret technology no civilian has ever come to witness. There was no metal ridges like an ordinary key, nor did it look fancy like what many would expect from their wildest imaginations. 

"Thanks dude!" 

"Um, America-san, we're not going into space like this, are we?" Japan asked, "I do not want to suffocate to my death."

"Oh yeah, heh, I forgot about the space suits." America chuckled, "But first, debriefing! Because that's what heroes do!"

Inside a top-secret room, unknown to the general public, some of the highest-ranking officers stood next to America for the sake of appearing more powerful and for general protection. On one end, Tony and America sat next to each other with the other nations sitting around a table. 

"I have an announcement," America began, "Tony will be here on home base. He is actually Head of Intergalactic Affairs on Area 51 by the way, and has informed us about what creatures we will be dealing with."

Tony nodded. "You little shits will be dealing with these bastards," he said, "They're called Xevions, and they are really smart."

"Don't call us little shits, you imbecile!" England shouted, "We are also really smart too! Also, watch your mouth! I might as well stick some soap up your mouth of yours!"

"Calm down, dude!" America exclaimed, "Sure, we're all distressed about Mary, but now is not the time to argue! We all need to work as a team to get a part of our family back, and we all need to work together, especially piloting the Space Falcon! There are multiple parts on working on the Space Falcon. I will be the pilot, since I've been a living test dummy for the longest time and survived every single time!"

"I am very sorry to interrupt," Japan politely interrupted, "Now is not the time to brag about our questionable immortality, America-san. We need to focus on how we will fly the craft. I assume that we will be flying as a team with roles like engineer, navigator, and pilot."

"I volunteer to be the engineer," Germany said, placing his fist on his chest as a sign of dignity, "It is important that no errors show, and I am highly qualified for an engineer role."

"Alright, we got the walking stereotype to be the engineer," America said, "I also volunteer Japan to also assist Germany."

"Hai." 

For once, America grew serious over the gravity of the situation, which gave him rationality. "China, Russia, Italy, you three will be the navigators. But for Russia, since there's only room for the eight of us to sit comfortably, you will have to hold Mary for safety."

"Da."

"Alright, so far we have me as the pilot, Germany and Japan as engineers, China, Russia, and Italy as navigators...Oh! I just remembered! There is a turret on the Space Falcon, just like the Millennium Falcon does! France goes there." 

"I object." France scoffed, "I do not kill, especially if they are innocent. I will not scar dear sweet Mary a single bit." 

England bonked France on the head. "Bloody hell, you're not going to kill anything!" He argued, "There's something called an asteroid belt, by the way."

"And what does this asteroid belt have to do anyways?!" France argued back,

"You're going to shoot floating rocks that could kill Mary if they hit us, you muppet!" England snapped, "Mary isn't questionably immortal like us!" 

France then grinned, realizing that he too, had a purpose in this whole mission to rescue Mary. "Excellent~!" 

"Lastly, my good pal, Britain," America interrupted, "You're going to be my co-pilot! I can be the Han Solo to your Chewbacca!" 

"Did you just compare me to a hairy space alien pilot?!" 

"Um, actually, he's called a Wookie, get it right dude. Even Mary knows this."

"You kids and your newfangled science fiction! Fine, I will be the co-pilot if everyone else has been assigned a role. Just please don't muck things up, America."

America stood up, soon placing his fist on his chest. "Right then! We're all settled and ready to go! Tony, get the Space Falcon ready. Everyone, get your spacesuits on. We are about to kick some Xenomorph-looking ass!"

It wasn't too long after that the eight nations walked out of an air-locked chamber with fog clouding them; they all appeared as if they were silhouettes introducing themselves to our audience. The fog then cleared up, revealing the nations wearing not their usual clothes, but rather jumpsuits appearing dull in color. The jumpsuits were like the kind pilots wear when flying higher than a commercial airliner, each with their respected flag sewn on both sides of their shoulders and their names in different languages sewn on their right side of their chest. It appeared as if the nations were ready to collectively beat someone up for hurting dear sweet Mary.

Meanwhile, the hangar where the Space Falcon was located opened up to reveal the future of space flight itself. Pit crews readied to the craft for takeoff. Tony held light sticks to guide the craft out of the hangar and into the scorching desert heat, all while someone mounted the craft onto a tow. The nations then split into two groups of four, walking alongside the spacecraft like guards protecting a higher power. Once safely on the tarmac, the nations boarded the craft and took their positions.

"Navigation crews, check."

"Check."

"Engineers, check."

"Check."

"America to Groom, we are ready for takeoff. Tony, stay safe there." 

With the pull of a lever on America's flight deck, the flames from the engines ignited with all of its fury as it slowly began its ascent into the atmosphere. They all felt the craft speed up quickly, as they were forcefully pushed to their seats by the sheer power of the Space Falcon taking off into the vast blue yonder above the Sierra. America pulled the yoke as far back as he can as the craft nearly went vertical, but it wasn't too long in the process that there was heavy turbulence in the process, as an alarm blared out to the crew.

"Heavy turbulence. Heavy turbulence." 

"Come on Space Falcon, don't let us down." America said with great determination, "We're almost out of Earth now. We need you for our Mary!" 

As they thought all hope was lost for the Space Falcon, everyone felt rather light, as if their weight no longer existed in this plane. They finally made it to space, the final frontier. 

"England, initiate artificial gravity." 

"Initiating." 

England pushed a button on his side of the flight deck, soon feeling his weight back to normal again. 

"Alright crew," America announced, "Welcome to the final frontier. Navigators, see if there's any craft spotted in our solar system." 

Italy began furiously typing, only for an error message to pop up. "Nothing there~" he sighed, "Just an error."

"Hold on, let me try." China said, taking the keyboard away from Italy. He began to type something totally different, only for a blip to appear on a screen in front of him. "I found something! This could be where Mary is!" 

The nations stood up and hovered over China to see the blip. There seemingly was an energy radiating out of this blip that stood out from the rest of the blips. The pings were rather massive than what the other blips let out, indicating that something was far off and not naturally made. 

"This blip is by Jupiter." China explained, "It must be some kind of slow-moving alien spaceship...like a mothership!" 

"Oh! I remember seeing some kind of small UFO kind of thing!" Italy exclaimed, "Maybe it's that the UFO took Mary and it went there!" 

"How are we going to Jupiter?! It's so far away and who knows if I have to see Mary....all grown up?" 

The nations shuddered at the thought of seeing their beloved child, grown up and nearly unrecognizable. "Alright dudes," America announced as he went back to the cockpit. "Get back to your seats because it's time to put the petal to the metal!" 

"America, China is right." England argued as he sat down at the cockpit next to America. "We're never going to make it to Jupiter in time because at that point, Mary is going to be gone and all grown up!" 

"Don't ever question the power of top-secret technology, my dude." America protested, "Because this is why." He held a lever as tight as he can, yanking it down while being careful to not break it. The world all around them felt as if everything was going faster and faster, just like when they took off in the desert. The great rescue mission has just begun.


	4. Potential Biohazard

Inside of Mary's containment chamber, Xenophon and Mary sat on the cold, white floor of the rather plain-looking room, as if the two were enjoying a slumber party.

"So you have your real, biological parents and your friends who are like parents too?" Xenophon asked, "Wah! That is so cool! I can't wait to meet them on Earth!" 

"Mr. Germany is really nice and I think he'll like you too," Mary answered, "He has a big brother named Mr. Prussia, and he plays with me when everyone has a world meeting!" 

"Wait, what are these 'World Meetings' that you said about?"

"I don't know what they're like, because they say I'm not allowed to be there. They think I'll get super duper bored there, but I wanna be there! But I have my friend Sealand who says I can join his world meeting!"

"Awww~! At least someone lets you have fun!" 

"Xenophon, what is life like on your planet?"

"Well, it's much like Earth, except we have a queen who rules the entire planet, and she's our mother too!"

"Does that mean you're a prince?!" 

"Well...not exactly. You see, our fathers spit some kind of weird slime into these buckets along with our real mothers, and then go to the queen, who lives underground and is really, really big! I don't know how long she's underground for, but I learned that she has been there forever! And then the queen gets that slime that becomes these cocoons where we're born in! Then we pop out and run back to our parents!"

Mary was intrigued yet disgusted. "Mama, Papa, and all of my country friends told me that babies come from storks." She stuttered, "But Mr. Germany told me that storks carry babies from heaven to their Mama and Papa! Ah! To think I was a baby being carried by a big bird!" 

"Aw, that's so cool!" Xenophon exclaimed, "I wish I came from the skies." 

"Mr. America told me that people buy babies at the store, though. But I like the storks because storks are these really big and pretty birds! I think it would be silly if people bought babies at the store!" 

"Yeah, it sounds kind of wrong and really silly! Ah-! I need to go, Mary. I don't want my father to find out I was with you!" 

"Bye bye, Xenophon!" 

Xenophon rushed out of the containment chamber, making sure to have it appear as if he never interacted with Mary at the slightest. In the meantime, Mary grew drowsy, flopping herself on the cold, empty floor to sleep. 

Selenkko appeared stern towards his own child. "Ah, Zefaereon, my son." Selenkko said, "I've been expecting you." 

"Did you want to tell me something, father?" Xenophon asked, responding to his real name Zefaereon, "Is it about-"

"Yes, it's about you. I've seen you with the sapient, even when it feels like I'm not there." 

"You've been...spying on me?"

"Not on you, mostly. The sapient. My assistants are concerned about the sapient. I'm only concerned about you." 

"Father, the sapient isn't just a sapient to you or any of the scientists on board this ship! The sapient is my friend! Her name is Mary and has such a wonderful life on Earth, with these...humans called countries." 

"Zefaereon...are you..."

"It's not Thought Contagion, father. Mary has been telling me things about life on Earth and-"

"This is the exact reason why I never let you on Earth with my acquaintances. I should have never allowed you to see this sapient in the first place."

"It was bound to happen, father!" 

"Enough! I forbid you from ever seeing the sapient ever again!"

Xenophon snarled, his teeth starting to show behind his beak. In one dash, he sprinted off, heading towards Mary in the containment chamber. Selenkko knew that his own son has now become a danger to the crew on board the research vessel. Without hesitation, he pulled a lever, in which the room soon turned into a blood-red color with alarms blaring loudly. One by one, specimens in cages, tanks, and tubes began to lock up to prevent escape. It was only now that Xenophon had to run for the one thing that will lead him to his destiny.

"Son, you will regret this." 

Xenophon dashed as fast as he can to find Mary under the fact that the vessel has now gone under a Code Red for the escape of an intelligent specimen. Just in time, Mary's containment chamber hasn't been locked up.

"What's going on, Xenophon?" Mary asked, on the verge of tears.

"No time to explain. Come on!" The alien life-form grabbed Mary by the wrist, dragging her out just in time before her containment chamber closed off into the visible world. The two ran as fast as they could, even with Mary soon to be growing more exhausted with every step they took. 

Other crew mates were deployed to disable the loose specimen and to restrain Xenophon to cure him from the horrors of thought contagion.

Once out of the laboratory, the two took a quick breather, only for the sounds of marching approaching them ever so closer. There was no turning back now. All they had to do was to run for their own lives. 

Just as Mary grew exhausted, she noticed a glimmer of light from the corner of her eye from the outside world. In times like this, all hope was lost. Except, well, that was the glimmer of hope Mary wished for. An unknown craft flew alongside the massive mothership, right in the line of sight of Mary and Xenophon. It was hard to identify who was inside due to the tinted windows.

"Oh goodness, no! Not recruits!" Xenophon whined, "I hope it's not our allies..."

"No Xenophon, look!" Mary exclaimed, "It's my friends!" 

"What?!" 

Mary saw through the tinted glass that her greatest allies were here. She saw America piloting the craft as the greatest glimmer of hope anyone could have wished for; she could possibly cry from how happy she was!

Meanwhile, our heroes felt relieved that they finally saw Mary after scouting out the perimeter of the mothership. They were cheering her name, trying their best to motivate her, despite both of them not being able to hear each other. 

"Man, I'm so proud of my little Mary!" America exclaimed, "Don't worry little sister, we're going to rescue you!" 

"America!" China exclaimed, "There is an entrance not too far from here. It's fully opened up from what I can see. They're probably exploring Jupiter or its moons. Get there now!" 

"On it!" 

"God, make this end already." England whined, clearly slouched over from motion sickness. "I feel like I'm going to hurl." 

"Come on dude, you're literally an entire country. You'll survive this, man!" 

Back in the mothership, it felt like Mary and Xenophon ran for an eternity. Poor Mary was getting more exhausted and weaker with every step. Just as she was about to collapse, Xenophon yanked Mary towards him into a space that seemed rather cramped. Right before their eyes, they saw the guards running right past them, noting that they indeed had weapons and other equipment to capture Mary with. The whole atmosphere was now tense and awfully quiet; it's like Mary could hear her own heart beat intensely. Xenophon climbed up on the walls that nearly squeezed the child, soon landing in front of her as if he were doing parkour. 

"You gotta be quiet, Mary." Xenophon whispered, "I thinks we got them now." 

"Should we wait for my friends, Xenophon?" Mary whispered back, "I really wanna see them." 

"I'm not too sure about that. They could hold them hostage as specimens, too. We just gotta find an escape pod and yoink us out!" 

"Are you going to show me what it looks like?" 

"Yeah, although if we're not quick enough, they could be locked up. There were some mishaps of intelligent species escaping through them. I think one time we had this weird Earth creature that lives in the water escape in one! It's so cool! Although now we have another one locked up, heh."

Xenophon stuck his head out the crevice, scouting out to see if there was any more crew after the two. He noted that the hall was completely empty, albeit the tense atmosphere on the entire ship. Nobody was in sight, except for Xenophon and Mary. The young girl held the tip of Xenophon's tail, as if she were holding someone's hand. 

"Ick! Mary! Now isn't the time!" 

"Sorry Xenophon..."

He crawled out first, soon holding himself up on the wall with his tail erect towards the ceiling. The creature then gestured to Mary for her to come out and sneak alongside him. The two tiptoed the best they can, but all Mary did was simply gaze at how massive Jupiter really is! Xenophon had to tug Mary in the end so she wouldn't get distracted (Silly girl!) and risk getting captured! At last, the two saw an escape pod after what seems like even more of an eternity of tip-toeing about. Xenophon let out a huff of air, relaxing his muscles and tail. Mary though, was quite oblivious at the seriousness of the situation. 

"We're almost there, Mary!" Xenophon exclaimed, "I had to learn how to do this as part of a drill in case the worst things ever happened on this spacecraft!"

As Xenophon began typing on a keypad on an escape pod, a metal door slid down, covering the keypad that nearly cut the nubs off his fingers. Defeated, Xenophon drooped his tail down and sighed. 

"It's no use, Mary." Xenophon said, "I'll never get to Earth and you'll never be able to get home to your friends and family." 

Mary, for the first time ever since she was captured, hugged Xenophon. He had never felt some kind of platonic affection in his life, let alone, Mary touching a creature that could be a supposed biohazard to Xenophon's kind. 

"M-Mary? What are you doing?" 

"I'm hugging you, silly! My Mama, Papa, and my friends do it all the time! I just want to see that you're okay!" 

"Is this a human thing?"

"Yeah!" As Mary kept hugging Xenophon, she soon looked up and saw something in the distance that looked awfully familiar to her. Three silhouettes of humanoid figures were slowly approaching, but Mary couldn't make out who they were. Mary dropped her arms around Xenophon upon noticing on why those silhouettes were familiar to her.

"Mary?" 

Mary took two steps away from Xenophon as tears began to swell up around her eyes. No wonder she knew who those three were! 

"Mr. Germany! Mr. America! Mr. Japan!" Mary exclaimed, running as fast as she can to the three nations, with the occasional misstep that almost made her trip. America fell to his knees, embracing Mary in his arms as tightly as possible. America's glasses were getting foggy from the emotions pouring out of him, with the other two kneeling down to embrace their beloved adopted daughter.

"My darling little sister, Mary!" America exclaimed, "Oh how I'm so glad you're okay!" His tears nearly choked him, but Mary looked up at Germany, her father figure, soon after. 

"Big hug! Big hug!" Mary exclaimed, raising her arms up, despite being locked in America's arms. She tried to hug everyone all at once, but her little arms made it rather impossible to do it all at once. Xenophon, on the other hand, was intrigued that even more humans are in his sight! He carefully approached the nations, until Japan was the first to notice Xenophon's presence.

"Stop, fiend!" Japan exclaimed, pulling out a katana from a sheath and pointing it to the creature, "Do not harm Mary in any circumstances, or I may have to kill you." 

Mary, upon hearing Japan say such things towards Xenophon, broke out of America's arms to defend her new friend and ally. She stood in front of the creature with her arms spread out to protect him. 

"Do not hurt Xenophon, Mr. Japan!" Mary exclaimed, with tears swelling around her eyes again, "He's my new friend, and he helped me! All he wants to do is to see Earth, because it's his biggest dream! He just wants to make a bunch of new friends, like me!" 

Japan lowered his katana, seeing and feeling the emotion Mary radiated. Never in his life did any of the nations see Mary become so defensive of a friend! 

"Dude, I can't believe you almost made Mary cry," America commented, "Not cool."

"My apologies, Mary-chan." Japan apologized. "My protective instincts have come out."

"Well, I think it would be nice to show the little guy planet Earth," Germany commented, "If he is a friend of Mary, then I have no issue with it." 

"You'll really help me out, mister?" Xenophon exclaimed, "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

"Alright Germany, hold onto Mary." America said, "Protect her at all costs." 

Germany nodded, soon picking up Mary and holding him in his arms. The young child finally felt safe in the arms of someone she trusts; now it has become a mission to bring the child and the creature to Earth. That was, until, they felt a rumble that was just about noticeable. No matter where they went, they heard footsteps grow louder and louder. The nations, Mary, and Xenophon have been surrounded! The Xevion mothership crew surrounded them at gunpoint, and there was no way to get out. Some of the crew stepped aside to make way for a prominent figure of the ship, soon closing the gap once they got in the circle.

"Well, if the little sapient child called for help with their kind!" Selenkko said, "How wonderful it must be to know that I have obtained more specimens without even trying!"

"She's not an animal, dummkopf!" Germany protested, "She is a part of our family, and we want her back!" 

"Oh, I see now. If you want to take something my crew fought hard for the name of scientific advancement, then I guess you're going to fight for it. I'm not forgetting about you too, Zefaereon. You've been infected with thought contagion from the sapient. Come, so we can cure you." 

"I don't need to be cured!" Xenophon protested, "Father, you're just...overprotective! I don't need to be cured! I finally have friends that are meaningful! You just only care about your work!" 

Selenkko snarled in disbelief that his own son would say such things! "If any of you move, one of you will be captured. Zefaereon, that includes you. You're going to go through the treatment to get that thought contagion out whether you like it or not. " 

There was intensity in the atmosphere now. The gang was getting held hostage by creatures they have never before seen, let alone, one of them being threatened by his own kind. Mary held tightly onto Germany in fear that she will fall off and be recaptured, as indicated by the fact she was smushing her head against his chest. America glanced around, seeing what kind of idea he could do to escape. All of a sudden, a brilliant idea struck him! 

"Hey, alien dudes!" America said, approaching one Xevion who began to quiver in fear. "Take this!" 

He took a deep breath in, soon spitting his own spit on the poor alien.

"Biohazard alert!" The other Xevions screamed, "Decontaminate them immediately!" Just like that, a bunch of Xevions scattered away from the Xevion who was just spat upon, fearing that their comrade is surely going to die from contamination from another lifeform that could spread onto them. Their reactions were as if America spat acid that could melt the ground! At the perfect time, the nations ran off with Mary in Germany's arms and Xenophon dashing on all fours alongside his new allies. Selenkko was beyond furious upon noticing that the nations ran off with their precious cargo.

"They're running away, you fools!" Selenkko screeched, "After them!" 

A handful of crew ran after the nations and Xenophon, firing from blasters once in a while to try and disable the nations. Mary looked over Germany's shoulder, only to duck down back towards his chest at the sight of angered Xevions firing blasters towards her. All Mary had to do was to be brave during this time. 

It wasn't that long that the gang arrived at the launch bay sector of the mothership. The Space Falcon was there, greeting the five who arrived. It looked fine, but something just seemed to be rather off within the atmosphere. Nonetheless, Mary was ecstatic to finally have a ride home.

"Look Mary!" America said, trying to lighten up the situation, "We came here on a spaceship to rescue you!" 

Mary turned around, seeing the future of space flight itself standing there. She smiled, as if she felt that a dream has indeed come true for her. At this point, she was so excited to come home and reunite with her friends back on Earth. Alas, she would rather latch onto Germany, as if she were a baby koala. 

"Someone is very happy today," Germany chuckled as he adjusted the child in his arms, "I'm very happy, too."

"I can't wait to see Earth!" Xenophon exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!" 

"Ah, Mary. I was also meaning to tell you this, too." Germany said, "We all cleaned up your room together and guess what we found?"

"You found Cottonball!" Mary exclaimed, 

"Ja! Everyone else is inside the spaceship too. Let's go."


	5. Return to the Blue Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following may contain things that can be triggering to some:  
> -Blood  
> -Violence

Let's just go a little further back in time, just to see where the rest of the Space Falcon crew were at, shall we? 

America landed the Space Falcon down in the launch bay, deploying the landing gear that made it stand tall. The whole launch bay of the Mothership was surprisingly empty, other than a bunch of spacecraft of all different sizes parked and ready to take off. 

"Alright, game time." America said, "Me, Germany, and Japan will go get Mary. Everyone else, defend the Space Falcon and make sure Britain doesn't puke on the floor."

"If only your piloting was much better," England complained, "I wouldn't be so bloody miserable!" 

"Whatever! Now let's do this! Oooh rah!" 

America, Japan, and Germany got together as a team and exited the Space Falcon, running as fast as they can to the nearest corridor they can find without getting caught by the crew of the mothership. The others, however, only had to defend the Space Falcon and themselves.

"Well, I guess we're going to die!" France said, "Just out here in Outer Space, by Jupiter, and probably never going to see Mary again. Lovely, isn't it?"

"Don't be such a downer, France!" China protested, "We are here to save her, not complain about the end of time! You're starting to sound like England!" 

"I have a reason to complain, China." England groaned, "France is just being a petulant child."

"Please stop fighting, everyone!" Italy cried, "We all need to work together! I know we're all distressed and scared but please! I just want to see dear Mary again!" 

"Da, Italy is right." Russia chimed in. "Mary has given me endless joy, as she is only friend to me. If we keep fighting, then we all lose. I have brought special friend, too, for this." He unzipped his jumpsuit, taking out his trustworthy, yet beaten up, metal pipe and immediately zipped up the jumpsuit afterwards. "Kitty will fight with this."

"Oh dear..." Italy stuttered at the sight of the pipe, "Please don't hurt anyone..." 

"I'm surprised you can even fit that thing in there," England said, "Not like you're that bag Mary Poppins has." 

* * *

Outside of the Space Falcon, a Xevion approached the unknown craft that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, tilting their head to inspect where to go inside. 

"There is an unknown craft in the Launch Bay," they said in their native tongue to some sort of device they carried, "Permission to inspect?"

"Permission granted." 

The Xevion walked around the craft, trying to figure out where the entrance was. Soon enough, they found the entrance and let themselves in...for a rather nice surprise. Once inside, they looked around to see a rather empty spacecraft, until, that is, when a massive blow struck them on the head and launched them right out the ship! The entryway to the inside of the Space Falcon shut closed immediately. 

"Bloody hell, Russia!" England gasped, "You could have killed the poor sod! Look! He's bleeding profusely!" 

"Ah?" Russia was confused, sticking his head out of the Space Falcon, "Did I hit too hard?"

"Too hard?! Of course you did!!" England sighed, going back to his statement. "Now someone has to clean up the mess. Can't traumatize poor Mary at the sight of a possibly dead body when she comes back here." 

"I'll do it~" 

Russia opened up the same entryway into the spacecraft and exited, as if nothing ever happened. To his surprise, there was actually gravity on the Mothership! The feeling of artificial gravity messed up his coordination, but soon returned to his senses. He grabbed the tip of the Xevion's tail, dragging its lifeless, bleeding body right behind a smaller spacecraft. However, there seemed to be a problem; there was a good amount of the creatures purple blood streaking the floor. Russia shrugged, returning back to the Space Falcon as he brushed his hands to the surprise and horror of the rest of the gang. 

"I think I'm going to be sick now!" France exclaimed as he nearly fainted, "The poor alien...thing! All of that blood! How horrific and disgusting!" 

"Ah, I'm used to it." Russia said, "At least Mary will think that is only paint on floor."

"You're right, I guess." China chimed in, "Although, never underestimate how smart kids can be. Mary is a very smart cookie. She couldn't figure out how to use chopsticks one time when I was trying my best to teach her, so she gave up and stuck one through a dumpling." 

"Huh, that's pretty clever." England commented, "Kids these days are quite cunning, I must say." 

"Everyone, look!" China exclaimed as he rushed to the cockpit, "Germany got Mary!" 

The five remaining nations went up to the cockpit window, seeing America, Japan, and Germany returning to the launch bay with Mary in hand. Never did they realize how quick they returned with their precious cargo! The five cheered them on as they approached closer to the spacecraft, until France noticed Xenophon walking alongside Japan.

"Look, an alien!" Italy exclaimed, "What is it doing with Japan?!"

The nations began to debate on what to do with Xenophon approaching the ship with Mary. Some debated to be a traitor, while others argued that Mary befriended it. 

"Quiet everyone!" England shouted, "Now isn't the time to debate! If we keep arguing, we're all going to make Mary cry! They're just about to enter!" 

The entryway into the Space Falcon opened up, with Germany first entering with Mary in one of his arms. Upon seeing the young child, the nations erupted in applause that their child is now safe. 

"Go see Kitty, okay?" Germany said, kneeling on the floor as he gently let Mary down on her feet. As he let go, Mary ran towards Russia, who opened his arms wide for her. 

"Kitty!" Mary exclaimed, hugging Russia as tight as she can.

"My little babushka!" Russia cried, as tears began to swell in his eyes. He embraced her, soon cradling her in his arms just like a baby. "Oh, how I was so worried about you!"

"Guess what, Kitty!" Mary exclaimed, "I made a new friend!" 

"Oh, you did?"

"He's coming to Earth with us!" 

The nations, upon hearing that Mary made a new friend on her journey home, weren't surprised in the slightest. After all, Mary could befriend quite a bit of things just for her pure innocence. America then entered the Space Falcon along with Japan, who helped Xenophon get inside. He was quite shy, albeit trying his best to not fanboy at all of these humans he's seeing! 

"Ah, I have forgotten to ask your name," Japan said, "My apologies."

"O-Oh! It's fine!" Xenophon stuttered, "I'm Xenophon! I actually helped your human friend Mary get out of here. I come in peace, if that's what you say."

"Wait a second," England interrupted, "Isn't Xenophon an Ancient Greek who didn't really like democracy?" 

"What? Someone took my name already?"

"Come on, England, leave Xenophon alone." America protested, "If he's called Xenophon, then his name is Xenophon. End of story." 

"T-thank you!" Xenophon exclaimed, "But most of all, thank all of you for making my dream come true! I've always really wanted to see Earth, and I could hardly wait!" 

A crowd of Xevions suddenly swarmed around the Space Falcon, aiming their blasters at the spacecraft that could possibly rip through metal and kill someone. Some of them began to climb on the spacecraft with ease, screeching like banshees and flicking their long tails. Mary fearfully smushed her head against Russia's chest, trying to not see the major conflict brewing and to hide away from the Xevions who can see her through the glass. Xenophon proceeded to hide behind Russia as well, fearing that his father and his colleagues will see him. Not surprisingly, Selenkko made his way to the craft, along with other high-ranking officials of the mothership standing next to him. The Xevions latched on the Space Falcon were soon crawling off the spacecraft afterwards at the sight of Selenkko and the high-ranking Xevion officers. 

Inside the Space Falcon, screens on many panels suddenly began to turn on automatically. Nobody knew how they were turning on, even as Germany was inspecting to see where they were coming from. He was startled when a face he has seen suddenly appeared on the screen. 

"Who is this thing?!" Italy screamed, "He's so scary and he's everywhere!" 

"Foolish sapients of Earth!" he announced, "Release my son and the young sapient from your grasp, and we will spare you. Refusing to do so will result in your untimely demise, and perhaps never going to see your home planet ever again." 

"That's my father," Xenophon said, "He's after me, too. He thinks that I have something called Thought Contagion from interacting with you guys and Mary."

"What do they do if you have Thought Contagion?" China asked, concerned for Xenophon. 

"Well...they tie you up and then they electrocute you, but sometimes my kind gets killed from the electricity because it's so powerful. Especially since I calculated that I'm only sixteen human years, which is quite young, I could possibly get killed!" 

"That's it!" America said, furious at the thought of poor Xenophon getting killed over being with Mary, "We're going to Earth. Xenophon dude, hold tight. Russia, hold onto Mary." 

America grasped a lever on the side of his chair, which ignited the flames of the Space Falcon's engines. The landing gear of the Space Falcon lifted up as the craft began to hover off the ground, dashing off into the cosmos. Many Xevions began to board spacecraft reminiscent of tie-fighters to chase after the Space Falcon that stole their precious cargo. One of the Xevions boarding their spacecraft screeched an unholy scream as they were about to board.

"Oh, my goodness!" they exclaimed, "Who would do such a thing?!" 

The Xevion held their slain companion in their arms, placing their lifeless body to the side, to prevent their body from being damaged. They looked back at the lifeless body, soon turning back to enter their fighter craft. 

"I will avenge those who killed you, my love."

* * *

Back on the Space Falcon, all seemed like a smooth ride back to Earth. Mary hopped off Russia, approaching England who sat limp as America's co-pilot. His energy came back to him upon seeing Mary, like a withered plant being resurrected.

"Ah, hello dear," England said, picking her up and setting her down on his lap. "Did you come to see me?" 

"Yeah!" Mary exclaimed, "I wanna see space!" 

"You want to see space, huh? Don't you have a class trip coming up to the planetarium?" 

"Mr. Germany is coming too!" 

"Oh? Is that so?"

Germany heard his name, turning his head over to the cockpit. "Ja." he said, approaching towards Mary and England. "I volunteered to chaperone." He knelt down to Mary, making himself appear more approachable to the young child. 

"Do you think we'll take Xenophon with us, too?"

"Only if he is okay with it. He might not be comfortable being around others, Mary, but it's only up to him if he wants to come or not." 

"Germany is right, Mary." England said, "It's not nice to force someone to go somewhere with you." He then knew that he had to change the topic before Mary got disappointed. "Maybe we can do a review so you know all of the planets! Now, what planet did we pass by? It's the biggest one in our solar system." 

"Jupiter!" 

"Splendid! You really are a smart little cookie! Now, what planet are we coming to? It's next to Earth-" 

England was interrupted by the sounds of blaring sirens ringing throughout the spacecraft. Poor little Mary covered her ears, nearly curling herself into a ball. 

"We got a problem!" China yelled, "They're after us, and they're getting closer!" 

"Germany, quickly bring Mary back to Russia. Make sure Xenophon is safe, too." England adjusted himself as Mary was being quickly carried over to Russia, who held her safely in his arms. Xenophon was scrambling all around the spacecraft, as if he were a cat trapped in a small room. He too, was just about to lose his mind at the situation at hand. The only thing he could do, however, was to hide behind Russia, who held onto Mary for dear life. The Space Falcon experienced heavy turbulence due to the Xevion pilots chasing after the future of space flight, shooting lasers towards them. 

"There's an asteroid belt incoming!" Italy screamed, 

America was focusing on flying the spacecraft until he heard a thunk hit the left wing of the craft. The spacecraft's alarms began to blare again, this time for something totally different. Poor Mary was overwhelmed by the action and noise all around her as she smushed herself against Russia. Xenophon fell over from the heavy turbulence, but held onto dear life to Japan. 

"We have been hit by a meteorite," Japan announced, "But it's not too big. It's probably the size of a golf ball, but you must be more careful, America-san!" 

"Well, yeah, but hold on tight yall, we got a big one incoming!" America pulled the yoke from the control panel, steering a hard right to the point the spacecraft was close to being at a ninety-degree angle. Some of the Xevion pilots crashed into the massive meteor by accident that broke into little pieces of meteorite floating away. 

"We're almost to Mars!" China announced, "And then we'll be home soon! Have faith, America!" 

America kept swerving and turning to dodge the meteors and meteorites that stood in their way, which probably is the reason why England became sickened in the first place. France was shooting bigger meteors with a turret to make way for the spacecraft, but not at the Xevion pilots who continued to ambush them. France's efforts did prove useful after all, for some of the broken-up meteorites crashed into the Xevion tie-fighters; some of them exploded from impact. 

At last, the gang was free from the clutches of the dreaded Asteroid Belt, soon approaching Mars at a steady pace; now nobody dared to chase after them. 

"We did it! We did it!" Mary cheered, wiggling her legs in Russia's grasp. 

"Yeah..." Xenophon said, "To think that some of those guys in the fighter craft were some of my friends, too."

"There's no need to fret, little guy." Italy said, patting Xenophon on the back, "We're your friends now, all because of our friend Mary!" 

"Heh, I guess you're right. I'm so glad I got to meet Mary and all of you. I can't wait to see what Earth is like!" 

"Xenophon, I can't wait for you to meet my Mama and Papa!" Mary exclaimed, holding his nubby hands, "We're going to have so much fun! I have so many things to show you!" 

Xenophon's tail swished around like an excited puppy. "Y-yeah! Friends forever!" 

"We're going to be friends forever! Friends forever!" Mary sang, which probably sounds a lot like a nursery rhyme. "And Mr. Germany has cute animals called doggies too! They love me very much like I'm family!" 

"Oh! That sounds lovely! They must be really cute if they sound cute~!" 

"There's lots to explore all around, Xenophon." England said, "That's the magic of travelling, after all." 

"You're right, mister. I know my father brought me along, but I was never allowed to travel to different planets. I guess it's just a fatherly thing."

"Hey dudes!" America interrupted, "We are getting to the moon, now! Also known as my greatest achievement ever!" 

Mary and Xenophon ran up to America in the cockpit. "It's the moon!" Mary exclaimed, "It's so pretty!" 

"Heh! Do you think you can find where my coolest astronauts placed my flag?"

"Woah! You put a flag on that moon?!" Xenophon exclaimed, 

"Well, it was quite a long time ago, way before you and Mary were born. Besides, I didn't go to the moon to plant a flag anyways. I sent a bunch of astronauts there. Man, I remember when one of them decided to play golf! Those were the days..."

Japan looked towards the moon, appearing rather solemn for the giant space rock that floated alongside the blue planet. 

"Dude? Is something wrong?"

"Kaguya-hime...Is the moon princess still there?"

"Hey, isn't that reserved for Princess Serenity? Right Mary? Maybe you'll see Sailor Moon there!"

Japan soon snapped out of his sorrow, quickly looking around. "H...Hai. It's nothing, America-san. Only old memories of the past."

"Hey...who is Kaguya-hime?" Xenophon asked, holding Japan's hand, "Is it someone you know?"

"It's a heavy subject, Xenophon-chan." Japan answered, "I'll tell you when we get to Earth. I don't want to cry during a moment of happiness."

"I understand, mister."

The solemn moment was quickly interrupted when America turned over his seat from the cockpit towards the rest of the crew, Mary, and Xenophon. "This is your pilot speaking!" America began, "We are about to begin ascension into Earth, please keep your trays up and your seats in the upright position. Also fasten your seatbelts because we don't want anyone flying off the seats at all. Mary and Xenophon, please return to Russia who will gladly hold onto you." 

"Wait, who is Russia?" Xenophon asked, who didn't know Russia was also called 'Kitty' by Mary, 

"Kitty is over here!" Mary exclaimed, climbing on his lap. 

"Yeah, Mary calls him Kitty for some reason," America interjected, "He'll keep you safe." 

Russia opened up his arms wide, where Mary and Xenophon were soon wrapped up tightly as if they were all in a giant blanket. For the sake of extra protection, Russia also wrapped his arm-like scarf around the child and her alien friend; something a very protective mother would do. The rest of the crew were seated, clearly ready for ascension towards the blue planet. The sound of clicks and button-mashing was literally everywhere to begin the smooth process in reentering Earth's atmosphere. The noises nearly overwhelmed Mary's senses to the point she had to try her best to block out the noises.

"Germany, system's check?"

"Ja." 

"We begin ascension in Ten..."

Everyone began to brace for the imminent g-forces that would probably harm them.

"Nine....Eight...."

Mary was very frightened on what would happen to her, although at this point, Xenophon was rather used to it.

"Seven...Six..." 

The navigators began to pinpoint coordinates for landing, soon putting away their navigational equipment soon after.

"Five...Four..."

The engineers followed suit.

"Three...Two..."

All Mary had to do was close her eyes, hold tight, and hope for the best.

"One!" 


	6. Meanwhile, Back on Earth

The sound of telephones and printers rung throughout the office space. Today was just a typical work day within the complex, with a woman and a man enjoying a nice, deserved break in a rather cozy break room, equipped with some kitchen appliances and a flat-screen television mounted on the wall. It was rather boring, not too exciting. If you worked there, you'd probably wish that the break room would be more fun and entertaining.

"Kirk, dear?" the woman asked, "Do you ever wonder what Mary must be doing with her friends?"

"To be fair, I am quite jealous Charlotte," the man, named Kirk, answered. "Some of those friends of hers have quite a bit more dadliness than me. Someday, I'm going to out-dad the crap out of them! Pummel them with the grilling and dad jokes so they feel the true wrath of a real father!" 

"A grill-off sounds like a lovely idea, dear." the woman, Charlotte, replied. "After all, if you think of it, it's just like a cultural exchange."

"Man, I can go for some brats and a beer right now. All I have is this coffee that's probably awful, awful instant powder or something." 

The television in the break room suddenly changed, projecting an image of a news reporter with the caption "Breaking News" below the reporter. 

"We interrupt your program to bring you the latest news," the reporter began, "There has been a sighting of an unknown aircraft flying over Los Angeles, which soon disappeared out of the city. We've caught footage of the craft flying over the city, but we have yet to identify the craft."

As the breaking news went on with videos of the phenomenon recorded by locals, the two parents looked at each other.

"Honey, I know what you're going to say." 

"What?"

"You think that Mary is probably in there with her friends, isn't she?"

"Man, I wish. That would have been one hell of a story. Although as a proud father, I would have to approve of it first because you know how reckless America is." 

"Isn't it common sense to approve of things first so Mary doesn't get hurt?"

"Yeah, guess you're right. But man! I'm vibing with that aircraft! I wanna get a model of it someday..."


	7. Returning Home

Xenophon looked out a nearby window to the world of human civilization below. His tail was wagging to the point it could whip someone by accident as his eyes were glued down to the tall skyscrapers and the winding roads that could easily overwhelm someone like him. Mary too, was watching as she smudged the window with fingerprints with her sausage fingers. 

"It's so amazing down there!" Xenophon exclaimed, "This is what I've always dreamed of!" 

Everything was going so quick for them that it wasn't long until the spacecraft reached the Mojave, filled to the brim with nothing but sand, mountains, and rocks. It also meant that Russia came over to pick up Xenophon and Mary to begin their descent back on the ground. 

"We are landing," Russia said, "Hold tight for Kitty~!" 

"This is your pilot speaking," America began, "As we prepare to land, please keep your seats and trays up. As for Xenophon and Mary, please do remain seated on Russia so you don't fly off and smush your face against the window. Thank you for flying American Airlines (no copyright infringement intended) and have a safe journey to Planet Earth!" 

"We're home!" Mary exclaimed, wiggling her legs excitedly, "We're home! We're home!" 

"I guess this is going to be my home, too." Xenophon said, "But at least I feel more free now!" 

"And your Papa isn't going to be mean anymore!" 

The feeling of downward force was felt by everyone as the Space Falcon made its last landing at Area 51 in the barren Groom Lake. England's misery was finally over, soon grabbing a barf bag and hurling inside of it. Thankfully, nobody but America got to see England suffer as much. The landing was totally smooth, with nobody getting hurt in the end and slowing down not taking too long; only one skid mark on the tarmac. Russia released his arms, letting Xenophon and Mary go run free with their friends. Mary was excitedly pulling America's arm as he was shutting down everything so crew can tow the spacecraft back to the hangar. 

"Alright, alright!" America chuckled, ruffling up Mary's bangs, "I know you're excited, but big brother America has to make sure everything's a-okay! Go with Xenophon, alright?" 

Mary let go and nodded, running back to Xenophon, who was just about to get off the Space Falcon and experience the ground that is the Earth. 

"Come on Mary," Xenophon said, "Today, we're going to experience a new chapter of our lives." He held out his nubby hand, soon with Mary holding it as tight as she can. The two disembarked together, out into the scorching hot sun of the Mojave. The tarmac made things even worse, as the heat radiated onto anyone and anything that stood there. Crew immediately pulled up to tow the Space Falcon back to its home, along with personnel on little golf carts approaching Mary, Xenophon, and the nations. 

"Wow, an Earth contraption!" Xenophon exclaimed, "And look! More humans!" 

Men in black soon began to get off the golf cart, forming a circle that soon disbanded as they approached the group. Inside the circle was Tony, who approached Xenophon and looked up at him. In scale, Tony was around Mary's height, but served a vital role to the complex. 

"Y...you're not from Earth, are you?" Xenophon was quite puzzled, flicking his tail as he was trying to identify who or what Tony really is. 

"This here is our Head of Intergalactic Affairs, Tony." One of the men in black said, "He is here to investigate you, as you are not from Earth."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all," Tony interjected, "I am here to document you. We've never seen your kind before, despite logging different extraterrestrial races across the cosmos." 

"As for the little girl," Another man in black said, seeing Mary behind Xenophon, "I'm glad to see that she is unharmed. Have you made friends with them?"

"Yeah!" Mary exclaimed, "He's my friend Xenophon!" 

"I see." The man hesitated for a second, knowing well that he must do this to poor Mary. "I'm...afraid to bring the bad news, little girl, but we...we cannot let you see your friend again." 

Mary smile soon fell off, yet she was confused. "What do you mean?"

"For safety and confidential reasons, we cannot let civilians know about extraterrestrial life, considering you know these here nations. Usually, we use a device to wipe out memories to people or worse...kill them. As you're a little girl though, it's morally wrong to do both to you, so we will let you go off easy."

Mary looked up at America, tears filling her eyes, not knowing what really is going to happen to Xenophon. 

"It's time to say goodbye, Mary." America said calmly. 

Xenophon held Mary's shoulders, turning her around gently. "Mary?"

"Y..Yes?"

"I think it's time to say goodbye...I don't know what's going to happen to me, but remember me always, okay?" 

Mary had nothing to say, but hugged Xenophon tightly. The alien felt something warm in his heart, soon embracing the young child in his arms. He also felt something coming out of his eyes as well.

"Mary...what is this coming out of my eyes?"

"Those are your tears, Xenophon. I have them, too." 

"I've...never felt this feeling before. I think...this is how you felt when you wanted to come home?"

"Yeah." 

"As much as I would like to go to my home planet to see my father, a new chapter of my life begins here on Earth. Goodbye, Mary. May the Cosmos bless you with prosperity and happiness." 

He turned around, looking at Tony and the men in black who guarded the little grey man. Tony held Xenophon's nubby hand, leading him to the golf cart where they came from. Just before Xenophon got on, he turned around one last time before he goes off into the distance, probably to never be seen by Mary again. He held up his nubby hand, gently waving it to Mary before turning back to enter the golf cart with Tony. It wasn't too long until the golf cart sped off towards the many hangars on the top-secret military base, also where the Space Falcon was at this point. 

Mary, however, felt something she never felt in her life. A feeling of loss of a friend she only met for a little while, as if she found out someone she met had died. These feelings overwhelmed her, quickly running over to Germany to cry on him. The fatherly nation picked up Mary, allowing her to cry on him about these feelings she have never felt before, gently bouncing her in his arms to calm her down as best as he can. 

"I hate you, Mr. America!" Mary cried, choking on her sobs. All Germany can do was to continue to gently bounce her and rub her back, doing his best to calm the crying child.

"I...I can't believe you allowed this, America." England scolded in disbelief, "You...broke a little girl's heart like that. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

The nations soon began to head back home, leaving America behind, for they knew that he really messed up badly. They continued their best to calm Mary down, soon realizing that perhaps Mary just needs time to herself with those she loves.


	8. I Miss My New Friend

Ever since Mary returned home from an epic rescue, the poor little girl was still reeling from so much that happened. In fact, she hasn't been in her own bedroom! Where has she gone, you may ask? Poor Mary became even more clingy to the nations who looked after her, albeit she is still quite mad at America for somewhat being involved in Xenophon's separation. She had been sleeping over at Germany's house, being looked after by both Germany and Prussia, who do their best to heal her from the emotional pain she had to go through.

Let's see the moment when Germany brought Mary to his home.

Upon opening the closet-like door into Germany's home from Friendship Manor, poor Germany was very exhausted from today, yet still had patience to even deal with Mary. He did text his older brother about the whole situation at hand, for he too felt pity for the young child, yet somewhat excited that he gets to take care of someone again, let alone see Mary. After a change of clothes, from wearing a jumpsuit made for high-altitude flights to a normal outfit, Mary was still clinging on to Germany for dear life, fearful that she will lose him too. Even Germany's dogs knew something happened to Mary, for they began to whimper for the poor soul.

"We're home, Mary." Germany said, doing his best to soothe the child, "Smile for me?"

Nothing. Mary rested her head against his shoulder. Her face was still filled with tears and snot.

"Do you want to see Herr Preußen?"

A slow, tearful nod.

Still carrying Mary, he looked for his beloved brother, but it didn't take long to find him in the kitchen. Prussia turned around, excited to see Mary, yet feeling pity for her.

"Hey," he said quietly to not startle Mary, soon beginning to go into a gentle sing-song, "Who's your favorite uncle? In the whole wide world? It's your awesome Uncle Prussia, here to make you smiiiile~"

Mary smiled a little bit, still resting her head on Germany.

"Oh! A little smile! That's good! The doggies were very worried about you, too."

"Bruder, go play with Mary. I have an important thing to do before I forget." He handed Mary over gently, despite being worried that the clingy child isn't going to let go of him. To his surprise, Mary was absolutely fine being handed over to Prussia, who immediately began to swing her around and coo at her.

Germany went upstairs to his office space, taking out his cell phone from his pocket. He began to dial an important number, soon immediately putting it to his ear.

Ringing...Ringing...Ringing....

"Hallo? Ja, this is Ludwig, Mary's guardian. I apologize for the sudden notice, but I cannot make it to the Planetarium with Mary tomorrow. Mary suddenly fell ill and I must be there to care for her. I don't know how long she is going to recover from her illness. Danke. Thank you for understanding."

He hung up, soon feeling a sense of guilt swamping him at the fact that he had to lie to the mortal humans that help Mary grow and develop into a proper lady. She looked forward to this class trip with her friends from school and Germany, though he knew that her well-being must always come first. After all, he doesn't want to see a remorseful little girl all day; it might just break his heart too. Germany went back downstairs into the living room, seeing that Prussia was having an absolute ball with Mary. He was lifting her high in the air, then bringing her back down and soon back up. Eventually, his arms just got tired and just decided to rock her, along with gentle bouncing. Mary seemed fine on the outside, but she still felt the grief and pain from losing a friend she grew close to.

"Mary has been awfully quiet, bruder." Prussia said to his younger brother in his native tongue, concerned about Mary. "America really did break her heart, didn't he?"

"Time heals." Germany answered, "All we need to do is to make her comfortable and happy again. Her parents know about what happened, and they agreed to let us care for her for the time being." He soon then switched back to English, the language that Mary can understand. "Mary, I forgot to mention that I found someone special in your room."

Prussia gasped playfully while making a face at Mary. "Oh! Did you hear that?!" He said, "Herr Deutschland found someone!"

"Xenophon?" Mary said, hoping it would be her alien friend.

Germany's smile soon faded, not knowing that all Mary could think of was Xenophon. Not wanting to let Mary down and break her heart even worse, he excused himself so he could grab a bunch of things in Mary's room for her stay at Germany's. Upon exiting, Mary noted that Germany was in fact, gone, soon beginning to cry.

"O-oh!" Prussia exclaimed, "Nono, it's okay! Bruder will be back!" He sat down on a nice, comfy sofa, soon gently bouncing her in his arms. "Everything will be all right! Look at your Uncle Prussia- Oh! Look! The doggies came here, too! They're worried about you, too!"

He let go of Mary, who crawled off of Prussia to lie on the floor, as if she were a plank of wood. The dogs began to sniff all around her, even doing their best to cheer up Mary. Berlitz, the German Shepherd and leader of the pack, began to sniff Mary's face and lick her tears away as well as her whole face.

"Awww! Berlitz is so worried about you!"

She leaned up in a ninety-degree angle, hugging the big, fluffy German shepherd. "Good doggie, best friend~" Mary said, who soon began to pet Aster and Blackie as well. To a dog lover, this was heaven. To Mary, this was a big step into feeling better. The friends she have are still here with her.

It wasn't too long until Germany returned with a bag full of Mary's things, like clothing, hygiene, and some toys. He also had something behind his back that he hid.

"Look, Mary!" Prussia cooed, "Herr Deutschland is back!"

Mary perked up, soon running over to her father figure to see that he has indeed brought a surprise.

"Mary," he began, "Hold your hands out."

"Upsie daisy."

"No upsie daisy until I give you this surprise."

Mary tilted her head, soon seeing Germany moving his right arm to reveal the one thing that brings joy to Mary. In his hand was the beloved, stuffed unicorn that Mary believed she lost forever.

"Cottonball!"

"Ja. We found him when we were cleaning, and I think he'll make you happy."

"I wish I can show Xenophon Cottonball though..."

Her eyes began to swell up with tears as they began to drip on the soft, worn fabric of the stuffed unicorn. Germany acted fast, soon picking up the child in his arms and rocking her gently. He looked at his brother, worried about Mary thinking a lot about Xenophon, soon turning back to her.

"Shh...Shh..." Germany gently spoke to Mary as he began to pet her bangs, "I'm going to cook dinner. Will that make you feel better?"

Mary slowly nodded, then resting her head on his shoulder.

"It will be like a big family dinner!" Prussia chimed in, "Oh! I have an idea! You can sit by your awesome Uncle Prussia and your Uncle Deutschland!"

"That sounds like a lovely idea. Go play with Mary while I cook."

He then handed over Mary back to Prussia, who began to cradle her in his arms. "Uhhh...how does that song go...Oh! Rock a bye baby, and the wind blows, I don't know the rest of the lyrics but this probably will do~!"

Mary smiled, quietly giggling. Prussia gasped playfully, exaggerating his face a little bit.

"Oh! I saw you laughing, Mary! How about this?!"

He took a deep breath, soon pressing his lips against Mary's soft tummy, making loud raspberries. Mary couldn't help but laugh, as that was her weak spot; her tickle spot to be exact. Soon lifting his head up, he took another deep breath and blew more raspberries. Germany heard the commotion, looking at the two having fun together. He smiled, knowing that Mary is going to get better pretty quickly with the help of his brother. Maybe, after all, he shouldn't have cancelled being a chaperone in the class trip. Only time will tell, after all.

During dinnertime, the two nations realized that things weren't normal for poor little Mary even at dinnertime. The mashed potatoes, peas, and schnitzel all stood there, with not a single bite taken. Mary did play with her food (Which she does normally) but they never saw Mary not eat before!

"Mary, I know how much you don't like vegetables," Germany said, "But they all want to be in your tummy so you grow big and strong."

All Mary did was look down at her legs that dangled above the ground, soon being greeted by the three dogs swarming her for free food. They were all sitting patiently, panting as the saliva dripped from their tongues onto the hard, oak floor. 

"Nein! No human food for you!" Prussia said as he stood up to shoo away the dogs, "Now Mary, does someone want the airplane?"

No answer. Despite that, Prussia grabbed a spoonful of mashed potatoes and peas, making propeller noises as he waved his arm towards Mary. The spoon didn't quite reach her mouth though, as she just turned her head away.

"Oh! Fussy, I see. I've seen China tickle attack you for not eating your vegetables, Mary. I could possibly do that right about-"

"Nein, bruder." Germany said, standing up with his empty plate. "She might still be upset-"

"My tummy hurts." Mary said, looking down at her round tummy. She also wobbled around sleepily, almost as if she were going to plant her face onto her mashed potatoes.

"Oh...I see." Prussia said, casually putting the spoonful of peas and mashed potatoes back on the plate. "Someone needs sleep after a long day."

Germany went over to Mary, picking her up off the chair and cradling her. The child whined a bit from tummy pain, which probably is caused by the distress she has.

"I see it might be your bedtime, Mary." Germany said, "I have your pajamas with me. I'll help you get changed."

"Darn. I wanted to do the airplane!"

Some time later, it was just about time that everyone was going to bed. Mary was wearing a long-sleeved pastel yellow nightgown that went up to her ankles, which surprisingly, didn't make her trip a single bit. Germany, though, was wearing a simple black tank top with a pair of boxers with a design that would probably look like a pair of boxers a dad would wear. The young child was holding Germany's hand, trying her best to not fall over from sadness and exhaustion.

"I have a bed you can sleep all to yourself, Mary." Germany said, who led her to a guest room by the hand, "This used to be another country's room, but it's a guest room now." Just as they arrived in the guest room, Germany noticed that Mary disappeared next to him! He looked down the hallway, seeing that his bedroom door was opened up just a bit, revealing a clue on where Mary could have gone. Entering the bedroom, the first thing he saw was Mary, all cozy surrounded by many pillows on a king-sized bed that easily dwarfed the young child. Germany smiled, seeing such a sight in his room.

"I knew this was going to happen." Germany chuckled as he crossed his arms, "I can allow you to sleep in my room."

"I'm scared of sleeping by myself." Mary whined, "I don't want the scary aliens after me..."

"Shhh...There's no scary aliens out to get you. We got you home safe and sound, and that's all that matters. I am very sleepy, too."

Germany stretched his arms as the sounds of bones cracking were occasionally ringing. He uncovered his side of the bed, getting himself under the warm, goose down blankets. He noticed though, that Mary seemingly disappeared! 

"Hmmm...where did Mary go?" 

He saw a little bump moving around the bed, pretending to not acknowledge its existence. "It seems like little Mary disappeared somewhere..." Soon enough, he felt the little feet and hands climbing up his torso. 

"Boo!" Mary giggled, popping her head out of the blankets as she sat on Germany's chest. 

"You got the sillies now, don't you?" 

He lifted up both of his arms, as if he were about to give Mary a big hug. To Mary's surprise, this was no hug at all; this was a tickle attack! Mary tried to squirm her way out of the attack as she yowled in laughter, but was already helplessly limp. She rolled off Germany, still squirming and laughing. 

"Better?" 

Mary nodded, still giggly from the attack. 

"Ah...How can I forget?" He grabbed something he cleverly hid behind his back, which brought a big smile to Mary's face. "Neeeigh! It's me, Cottonball!" He waved the stuffed unicorn around as its beanie legs flopped all around.

"Cottonball!" 

"Now, it's time for bed. You have Cottonball with you to protect you from nightmares. I'll be there to protect you from the nightmares, too." He leaned over, giving Mary a gentle kiss on the head. "Gute nacht, Mary." 

"Good night, Mr. Germany!" 

Just like that, Mary rolled away from Germany, cozy from fatherly love, warm blankets and soft pillows surrounding her. It felt like all of her worries have suddenly vanished...for now. 

That was when she entered the Dream World during her slumber. Inside of her dreams, she wandered around Friendship Manor, as if it was an ordinary day without any sort of troubles. She heard someone call out her name, but couldn't recognize who it was in the first place. She looked around, but saw nothing in her sight. That was when she looked towards the ballroom of Friendship Manor, seeing a familiar figure standing near the statue of Mother Earth herself. 

"Xenophon!" Mary exclaimed, running as fast as she can to the creature. Xenophon dashed over on all fours towards Mary, who then stood up on his legs as he got closer to the human child. Mary embraced Xenophon, nearly beginning to sob that she at last gets to see her friend again. 

"I missed you, Mary." Xenophon said, "Earth really is just like how I expected it to be. It's so wonderful, that I could cry!" 

"Yeah! And I have my friends, too!" 

"I can't wait to get to know your friends better!" 

"Not so fast, you two." The two turned around, seeing America emerging from Hall Americas. He looked really, really angry; almost as if he had steam coming out of his ears. Mary was confused yet scared on what was going to happen. "Mary, I told you not to be friends with him. He's going to kill you."

"What?! I'm not going to hurt her a bit!" Xenophon protested, "You're out of your mind!" 

America grabbed Xenophon by the tail, who began to screech in pain. His strength was too much for the little guy. With every pull, Xenophon thrashed and wriggled about, trying to free himself from the trap that caught his tail. Alas, there was no saving him; America was a bear trap to the poor, helpless creature. 

"Xenophon!" 

She woke up, screaming and crying all of a sudden. Germany turned over, seeing that Mary was the one responsible for waking him up, but realized that she wasn't having a fit, but a nightmare.

"Mary?" Germany calmly asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded, crawling over to Germany to hug him. He embraced her, sitting up to bounce her. 

"Shh...shh...it's okay, I'm here, I'm here. Everything is okay, Mary. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Oy!" The door suddenly opened, revealing a rather exhausted Prussia, shirtless and wearing heart boxers as if he were some kind of Saturday morning cartoon character. "I heard Mary crying from all the way in the basement!" 

"Bruder, please. She's going through a lot." Germany then turned over to Mary, much more gentler in tone for her. "Vater Deutschland is here. Do you wanna tell me what happened?" 

"M..Me and Xenophon met again..." Mary stuttered, as tears welled up in her eyes and snot ran down her button nose, "And...Mr. America was being mean...and then he took Xenophon away." She then rested her head on Germany's chest, which undoubtedly isn't the most comfortable pillow to a sensitive young child.

"Awww, poor baby!" Prussia cooed as he pat her back, "It's okay, Mary. Uncle Prussia is here, too. Oh! You're sleeping with Herr Deutschland, I see! He will protect you from the bad nightmares!"

"So will Cottonball." Germany said, until he then noticed the stuffed unicorn was gone. "Ah, where is he?" 

Mary crawled on the other side of the bed, seeing that Cottonball was on the floor lying helplessly. The stuffed unicorn was probably saddened to be so far apart from their best friend, who couldn't even reach the unicorn with her short arms. "There he is."

Prussia scurried over to the other side of Germany's bed, kneeling by the bedside to Mary.

"Look! Its your best friend!" He picked the stuffed toy up off the ground, soon making clicking hoof noises as he waved the stuff toy around, as if it were actually trotting over to Mary. Prussia then put the stuffed toy in her arms, ruffling the child's hair afterwards. 

"Smile for Uncle Preußen?"

A little smile grew on her face. Prussia soon sat on the bedside, his hands firm on the mattress. Something felt a little off here, though. He tried to not cringe so he wouldn't upset Mary at such a scary face! Confused, she tilted her head.

"Did I do a bad?" Mary asked worriedly.

"No, but I think we're going to give you a bath right in the morning." Prussia chuckled, "Stinky little girl!" 

"What does this have to do with the unicorn?" Germany asked, 

Prussia stood up, going over to the other side of the bed where Germany was. He leaned in, whispering so Mary wouldn't hear a single thing. Germany sighed upon finding out the truth, but was rather forgiving towards the young child. He turned over to Mary, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Mary." Germany said, "We'll clean you up in the morning."

Mary was surprisingly quiet upon hearing such things and scooted over to Germany, as if she didn't hear anything from him. Even he was quite surprised, where even the mention of a bath would make the little girl become fussy and stubborn. Nonetheless, it was already late, with Mary soon dozing off in Germany's arms, hopefully to never return to that nightmare. Prussia eventually left the room, back to sleeping peacefully. As for Germany, he felt a warm fatherly tenderness in his heart, knowing that he has a responsibility to bring happiness back to the girl after what might be considered tragic to a little child.

As the sun's rays kissed the two awake, Germany was first to open his eyes and be ready for taking care of Mary. Looking over, the child was still asleep with no signs of scary nightmares to frighten her. He gently scooped up Mary in his arms, soon slouching her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Germany then remembered that Mary had committed some sort of accident, throwing off all the blankets and sheets off the bed. He felt something grip his shoulders tightly, immediately knowing from parental instinct that Mary wasn't having a good time. Her sobbing was much quieter than the outburst in the middle of the night caused by a nightmare. 

"What's wrong, Mary?" Germany asked, adjusting her so he can look at her. "Did you have another dream about Xenophon?"

Mary nodded. Her eyes were filled with tears, just like the time Mary and Xenophon separated in the Mojave. Germany gently wiped her tears off, soon slouching her over his shoulder again. 

"We're going to have fun, Mary. You can play with the doggies as much as you'd like, and we're also going to give you a bath." He was expecting Mary to get fussy at the mention of a bath, but still no reaction. Germany was undoubtedly concerned for the young child, hoping that his fatherly love along with his older brother's excitement will heal the deep wounds Mary received. 

After a nice breakfast, Mary was sitting outside on the soft, green grass as the three dogs also sat with her, who did their best to cheer Mary up. Their efforts were very effective, as Mary was gently petting them as the dogs were occasionally licking her face. Germany was throwing bed sheets up on a clothes line after neatly cleaning them by hand. Prussia was doing his best to entertain Mary by running around the backyard, hiding behind trees and the bed sheets hanging on the clothes line as if it were the most intense peekaboo game. To his surprise, Mary didn't react at all! He began to ponder about some ideas, until he remembered what happened last night in Germany's bedroom.

"Maybe a bath will cheer you up!" Prussia said, scooping Mary in his arms, "When I heard you were coming over, I went to the store and got so much stuff for you that you can keep like those cute ponies you like! How about that?!" 

Mary was still quiet, but that didn't stop Prussia from carrying her back in the house for a bath. He was determined to at least make Mary happy somehow and had to put all of his best to be quite the fatherly figure, maybe even outdo his younger brother as Mary's favorite fatherly figure. As he was cleaning Mary up in the bath, he took out a rubber duck from a bag as he was sitting by the bathtub. 

"Look what I got for you, Mary!" Prussia exclaimed, squeezing the duck as it made squeaky noises, "I got this just for you when I heard you were going to stay for a bit! I know how much you don't like the bath but Mr. Duckie will be here to make it more...hmm, what's that word again? Oh! Awesome!" 

Prussia placed the duck inside the bathtub, in which it casually floated over to Mary. The child looked at the cute little duck, poking it to see where it would go. For the first time in a while, it seems like Mary's happiness was coming back to her. Prussia was undoubtedly elated at the sight! The two began to play with each other, splashing and hiding in the bubbles until Mary had to eventually get out of the bathtub. To make her even more comfortable, Mary was swaddled up in a towel, as if she were a caterpillar in a cocoon with her face sticking out. 

"You're a cute little burrito!" Prussia exclaimed, swinging around the towel cocoon excitedly, "I could just...eat you up!" 

During the rest of the day, Germany and Prussia were seeing Mary's happiness slowly returning, nearly in tears at how strong Mary is to go through such turn of events. Some of the others nations (Except America, obviously) also came to visit to make sure Mary was okay. After all, word does spread quickly in the Almanac if something happened to Mary. Such friends came by like the Nordics and the Baltics, as well as some other nation friends Mary met. There was occasional crying at how much Mary misses Xenophon, but she was much quicker to calm down than before. The two nations knew that just because Mary was getting better doesn't mean she's all better; It will probably take a week or two for her to be able to go back to her home and eventually start school again. 


	9. Bittersweet Reunions

On America's part though, most of the nations knew that America did fuck up badly by breaking Mary's heart. He was met with glares from other nations and was generally excluded from meetings. It felt like America was irredeemable no matter what, but had to find a way to redeem himself and quickly. There was only one way to do such a thing, though.

Travelling back to the Mojave, America returned to the very place where Mary's heart was broken for a one-on-one talk with the only creature he has left that will talk to him. 

"Hey, Tony." America said, sitting at the edge of the hangar where the Space Falcon sat, "You're probably pissed at me too, huh?"

"Why would I?" Tony answered, sitting down next to him, "That Xenophon guy is pretty dope." 

"No, it's that everyone is pretty much mad at me for Mary being separated from Xenophon. She's been at Germany's place for like a week or two. Feels like I can't be redeemed, bro." 

"Is that what you humans call unconditional love?" 

"Yeah, I guess."

"Not our fault, though. Xenophon could have had some flesh eating lifeform on him that could have eaten that kid or caused a plague to wipe out humanity."

"Good point. Besides, how is he anyways?"

"We hooked up a virtual reality device on him so he can experience Earth safely. Nothing too special, I think it's called and Oculus Rift?" 

"Oh damn, one of those things! If I would, I'd spoil Mary with that but I think she'll get sick with it." 

"Wait, why are you here anyways? Are you just going to take the virtual reality device?" 

"Nah, I got an idea." He took out an iPad from his jacket, booting it up.

"Is that your entertainment device?" Tony asked, looking over America's arm, "Why do you even have it here anyways?" 

"It's not only an entertainment device, my friend!" America exclaimed, standing up. "It's also a telecommunicator-er! I can facetime any of the nations if I wanted to!" 

"You think this could work, right? Like someone could hang up on you." 

"Watch and learn, my friend!" 

Back in Germany's house, Mary was recovering slowly and steadily, as if she never had to deal with separation anxiety in the first place. Germany knew that soon enough, Mary would be able to go back to school to see her friends. The young child rode on Berlitz as if he were a noble steed, not caring where the fluffy German shepherd went. The big fluffy dog couldn't care less; after all, he treated Mary as a part of the pack. 

"Go horsey, go!" Mary exclaimed, "Go!" 

"Alright, I think Berlitz might be getting tired of playing horsey," Germany said, picking Mary up off the dog's back, "I think he needs a rest, and so do you." 

"But I don't wanna do naptime!" 

"You don't want to get crabby, don't you?" 

Mary crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out. The fatherly nation chuckled, finding the child's face amusing. Just before he was going to do something, he heard his phone ringing as he promptly put the child down, who ran back to Berlitz and the other dogs. Picking the phone up, Germany saw that it was America calling, with no way to decline the call as it was an emergency call. He sighed, soon answering it as the camera on his phone activated, revealing America's face to the German, and Germany's face to the American.

"What is it?" Germany said rather crossly, 

"Dude, you're still mad at me?" America sighed, "I knew it." 

"All I ask is why you decided to use the emergency call function, that is all." 

"Look Germ, is Mary around? I only want to make amends to her." 

Germany's fatherly instincts began to kick in, almost as if he were to get defensive. He sighed to himself, seeing that he cannot be overly protective of the young child. "Alright. I'll do my best to get Mary. She may be still mad at you, but I'm not sure what is going to happen when she sees you." 

"Alrighty, do your best." 

Germany looked around, trying to see where Mary could have went. She could have been anywhere! To his surprise, he saw Mary trying to climb back up on Berlitz so the two can play horsey together. 

"Mary, what did I tell you?" Germany said gently, picking her up off Berlitz once again, "Berlitz needs to rest. Besides, I've got a special surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Mary asked, tilting her head. "I like surprises!"

"We can see this surprise together!" He carried Mary over to the comfortable sofa in the living room, soon sitting down with the young girl on his lap. Mary soon grew disappointed by seeing America waving towards Mary on Germany's phone and proceeded to look away, smushing her face on his chest. 

"Mr. America is a wafflehanger!" Mary whined, albeit a bit muffled from smushing herself on Germany, "He hurt my feelings."

"It's not nice to call someone a wafflehanger, Mary. I know how much he hurt your feelings, but it's not nice to call someone names like that." 

America, on the other hand, began his grand plan to make up with Mary. He moved the iPad that he held quickly, which soon revealed a familiar face, waving towards the camera. Mary looked back at Germany's phone, her eyes glistening at the sight as if she were almost about to cry. 

"Xenophon!"

"Mary?! I can see you through that! Can you hear me?!"

"Yeah!" 

Germany was surprised that America's plan for redemption was very simple indeed, smiling at the two who began to talk nonstop. Mary held onto Germany's phone, wandering around his house to show Xenophon the many things that Mary likes, such as the three dogs who comforted her, Cottonball, and even Prussia. Xenophon was telling Mary about his new life on Earth, despite the little girl not knowing what a "galactic embassy" was. All she really understood so far was that Xenophon made a new friend living on Earth, despite not being a natural Earth resident at all and being rather close to America. Germany, who watched Mary rather closely, was just about to shed a tear at this happy moment, trying his best to hold it back. 

Prussia, hearing the commotion, went over to his beloved younger brother to know what on Earth was really going on and why Mary was wandering around the house with Germany's phone. 

"West, why does Mary have your phone?" Prussia asked, "Aren't you afraid she is going to break it?"

"Nein," Germany replied, "She found her old friend from Space. I'm just...happy."

"Happy about what?"

"I'm happy that she is happy. After America broke her little heart by having her friend being separated by surprise, I think I can forgive him now for redeeming himself like this." 

The little girl and her alien friend spoke for hours and hours, until Xenophon noted something on his end that would have him disconnect.

"Hey, Mary?" 

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything you've done for me. I hope we can still talk to each other like this. America's device says 'Low Battery', which I assume means it's time for me to go."

Germany looked over at Mary, who looked up at him since she wasn't so sure what to do.

"Say bye-bye to Xenophon, now." Germany said, "You'll hopefully talk to him again soon."

"Bye bye!" 

Xenophon waved goodbye to Mary as the call ended. Three hours of nonstop talking! Germany was quite surprised at how much of a chatterbox Mary was! 

"Wasn't that a nice surprise, Mary?" Germany asked as he picked up Mary, "You got to see your new friend again!" 

"Yeah!" 

"You're going to tell your friends at school about him tomorrow?" 

"Uh huh!" 

"Let's get you back home. Your mother and father would be excited to see you back home, and you can tell them all about your adventures in space." 

Back in Area 51, America looked down at Xenophon, who stood next to him as he was putting the nearly-dead iPad away. He too, began to shed tears at this bittersweet moment of re-connection, with Xenophon holding up a little pack of tissues to him. 

"Xenophon, I never knew that I would cry over such things," America said, "If Mary is happy, then I too, am happy. I need to stop leaking out of my eyes, you know." 

"I feel a little warm inside, too." Xenophon said, "Is this a human connection thing?"

"I think so, kiddo. I'm sorry that my agents kind of forced you two to break apart. It's a complicated situation, you know." 

"I understand."

Word began to spread like a burning inferno all over Friendship Manor about Mary's happiness returning to her, and how America redeemed himself. The nations who once isolated him soon began to reconnect, apologizing about how they truly undermined him as a fellow nation. After all, Mary is a part of the family of nations as their beloved Bearer of the Almanac. 

At home, Mary told her mother and father about her journey to space and meeting Xenophon whenever they were home. As her parents are grownups with rational thinking, they all saw this as Mary's creative imagination taking her to places she dreamed of going, but never spoiling the magic of imaginative journeys to and fro. After all, they thought this was just child's play, soon with her father picking her up and swinging her around, pretending she is a spaceship. Even in school, Mary told her friends about her journey to Space, but as her friends are the same age as her, they believed her wholeheartedly. Unfortunately for the teachers, they too, believed that Mary was just having a creative imagination, but knew it would be a sin to spoil the magic. 

Little does the grown world know that a little girl has actually gone into Space, befriending the extraterrestrial and escaping from the extraterrestrial. The spacecraft that they saw on the news flying over Los Angeles was indeed a piece of Mary's journey home; the adults would rather use logical thinking to believe it was a whole different scenario. Perhaps someday, the grown world will find out that the impossible has had happened; it's only just a matter of time if they want to believe. 


End file.
